Gymnastics
by Mlle Karo
Summary: "He's still not here," Bette said, regret in her voice. "I'm sorry, Barbara. It looks like Dick didn't show up, after all." Oneshot.


**A.N/ I felt bad after writing angst so I wrote some fluff. If it can be called fluff. xD My sister used to do gymnastics, and I watched some videos online before writing this, so nothing should be _too_ inaccurate. Feel free to correct anything inaccurate!**

**Disclaimer: DO NOT OWN.**

* * *

Barbara Gordon and Richard Grayson walked home in silence.

It was rare for them to do so – when Alfred couldn't come pick them up, or Bruce was in a meeting – but the times they did were pleasant enough. Nobody thought it was strange for them to walk so close, nearly holding hands, brushing shoulders, feet moving in the same rhythm.

Everyone was used to it. Gordon and Grayson – if they were dating, they could be Gotham Academy's power couple. They were always together, people said. It was weird, how they never fought, how close they stood. Occasionally a jock would wonder if they were friends with benefits, before being whacked by angry girlfriends. "They're only 13! They're just close. A lot of kids are, when you're that young."

Generally their walks were filled with chatter, and laughter, but today nothing was said; no sounds other than shoes hitting pavement and clothes rustling in movement. Barbara wondered about that. Lately, a lot of things had changed between the two. Little things, that an outsider might not notice, but she did.

She and Dick almost never saw one another out of school now. Other than charity events held by Mr Wayne or some other socialite, the 'dynamic duo', as their Algebra teacher had fondly dubbed them, were practically strangers once the bell rang. Once upon a time, she had spent every afternoon over at Wayne Manor, helping Dick with his homework, eating Alfred's cookies. Now, she returned, every day, to an empty house, alone until her father returned from work to say hello, and then run back out. Gotham was a busy city.

"Babs?"

The redhead was woken from her reverie by the boy next to her. She cocked her head slightly to the side to look at him and was greeted by his usual childish grin.

"Lost you there for a minute. What are you thinking about?"

She shrugged. "Nothing much, really. Just that we haven't really done this in a while."

"Done what?"

"Hung out. If this can be called hanging out."

"Oh." Richard nodded, and the two continued on in a pensive silence for a few more streets. "Yeah, I guess that we haven't. Time does go by pretty quickly, I guess."

"Tell me about it." Barbara hesitated for a split-second before asking. "Hey, Dick?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I've got a gymnastics tournament coming up soon, and I was wondering if you would come?"

Dick smiled at her, but his eyes were distant, as if he was thinking something over. After a few seconds of thought, he nodded, grinning. "Of course! What, did you expect that I would miss an opportunity to see you fall off the balance beam?"

She elbowed him, and then they were both sniggering, just like old times. "Idiot," she snorted, both of them knowing that the insult wasn't meant. "It's in two weeks. Don't miss it, okay?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Richard said smoothly, winking as they approached the tall iron gates of Wayne Manor. He hesitated before saying goodbye. Normally, he was supposed to check in with the Team in less than an hour, but…

"Hey Babs! I have to do some stuff with Bruce in like forty-five minutes, but want to come in until then? After all, it has been a while since we hung out."

When he saw Barbara's grin light up her face, he figured that he'd said the right thing.

* * *

"Where is he?" Barbara asked with a hint of worry in her voice. She peeked out anxiously towards the crowd of people watching, scanning for faces she recognized. There was her father, and Detective Montoya, and she could see Bette's parents, and a few others. Dick was nowhere to be seen.

"Don't get your leotard in a bunch," Bette said soothingly. "He'll show up." She looked Barbara up and down. "You're too tense. Relax, you'll do fine! You're a natural."

"He said he'd be here," she repeated, agitated.

The older girl smiled slightly and sighed. "Then he'll be here. Trust me. Now come here, your braid is coming loose." The blond approached the redhead and started re-plaiting her hair, being careful not to pull. Barbara let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and closed her eyes, tilting her head back a little.

"Hold your head up," Bette scolded, but she laughed nonetheless. "And I wasn't kidding about you being a natural. If you keep at it, you could go to the Olympics."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Barbara mumbled, eyes once again flicking to the doors.

He still wasn't there.

* * *

Robin growled as he flipped among enemies, constantly checking his wrist-computer for the time. _Of course_ the Shadows decided to put a hit on the mayor of Happy Harbour. None of the Team even knew _why_! It wasn't like the man was particularly powerful. The people he was fighting, however, were a different story.

_Cheshire_. _Sportsmaster_. It was like the world was trying to mess up his plans. He dodged an attack from one of Cheshire's sais, and pulled his collapsible eskrima sticks from his utility belt. The assassin merely smirked behind her mask and parried his blows with vigour.

'_Guys, we need to get this done fast,_' Robin called out through their mind link, bringing his weapon down on the ninja's shoulder.

'_What's the rush?'_ Wally asked sarcastically as he delivered a blur of punches to Sportsmaster. _'Late for a date?'_

'_Something like that.'_ The Boy Wonder knocked the blades out of Cheshire's hands, and Artemis shot a number of arrows at her, pinning her to the wall. The ends of the arrows were blinking red, and the meaning was clear. If Cheshire moved, there wouldn't be anything left of her for the cops to take away.

Wally had stopped, stunned, allowing himself to be decked by Lawrence Crock. Aqualad took advantage of Wally's absence to pounce on the criminal, lashing out blows with his swords. The speedster was in a pile in the far corner of the warehouse, jaw dropped in shock.

'_Dude!'_

* * *

"He's still not here," Bette said, regret in her voice. "I'm sorry, Barbara. It looks like Dick didn't show up, after all."

The commissioner's daughter took a deep breath and shrugged, as if it meant nothing to her. "Oh well. His loss… I guess."

Bette was doubtful, but said nothing of it. "That's the spirit. Now, go on. It's your turn."

Barbara nodded, gave her upperclassman a quick hug, and went out on the floor.

She was going to be doing floor exercises, so even if he were here, Dick wouldn't have been able to see her fall off the beam. Her routine was… original, and she couldn't help worry about the reception, but she forced herself to breathe evenly and get her head in the game.

The music started, and she started moving.

* * *

Robin quietly entered the hall and took a seat near Gordon. The commissioner shot him a dry look, and did a double take when he noticed the gashes on the kid's head, face, but Dick merely smiled and waved him off, eyes glued to the floor. Barbara had incorporated a few martial arts moves into her routine; graceful kicks right alongside dance moves and tumbles. And Dick wondered, for the thousandth time, how things would be, were she a hero.

And when she stopped, panting, her routine finished as the audience roared with approval, her eyes danced along the faces until she spotted Dick, and her smile grew even wider as she waved to him.

When it was all over, and she was allowed to leave; Bette and her coach and the others having congratulated her at winning second places, Babs walked out, equipment and trophy in hand, to see her dad and Richard waiting for her, proud looks on their faces.

The redhead dropped her bag and lunged at Dick, gathering him into a bear hug, laughing for no apparent reason as her father watched, amused.

Of course, he was much less amused when she pulled Dick to her and kissed him, but that was another story.

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**Review?**


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